Oil higher after US manufacturing report

NEW YORK -- The price of oil is higher Monday after a report showing U.S. manufacturing activity rose in September for the first time in four months.

That overshadowed a report showing U.S. construction spending fell for second straight month in August and a survey indicating manufacturing in China continues to slow.

Benchmark crude rose 14 cents to $92.33 around 1:30 p.m. in New York. Brent crude, which is used to price international varieties of oil, fell 61 cents to $111.78 on the ICE Futures Exchange in London.

Prices at the pump slipped to $3.782 a gallon, according to AAA, Wright Express and the Oil Price Information Service. But they're still 35 cents higher than they were a year ago. Low supplies of gasoline, particularly in the Northeast are keeping prices elevated.

In other energy futures trading:

_ The price of natural hit another year high at $3.48 per 1,000 cubic feet, before falling back to $3.45, up 13 cents.